A conventional fuel cell vehicle is installed with a fuel cell and a secondary battery that are used separately in an appropriate manner to supply power to a travel motor, enabling the fuel cell vehicle to travel. In this type of fuel cell vehicle, a so-called idle stop, in which power generation by the fuel cell is stopped such that the motor is driven by the secondary battery alone, may be executed during low load travel or the like, for example, in order to use fuel gas efficiently.
When a supply of air to the fuel cell is stopped continuously during an idle stop, however, a voltage of the fuel cell decreases. As the voltage decrease becomes greater, more time is required to raise the voltage to a voltage required to reactivate the fuel cell in response to a load increase or the like.
In JP4182732B, therefore, when a voltage of a fuel cell decreases to a predetermined value during an idle stop, air is supplied to restore the voltage of the fuel cell. Air is supplied only for a period set in advance on a timer or the like.